Now that the football Cats bye week is behind us everyone in Wildcat Land has put the first half of the season behind them , some of it surprisingly good and some of it a little disappointing and one disaster. So far it all adds up to 3-4 in the record department . The best any rationale thinking prognosticator expected was 4-3 at this juncture in the season.

Admittedly UK’s last effort at LSU was it’s worst of the season, but the Cats did catch one of the most talented teams in the nation after an embarrassing loss in their own backyard, and after UK had a heartbreaking loss at home to South Carolina itself.

However , regardless of the record and excuses or results of the season to date , make no mistake this Saturday’s game at Mississippi State (2:30 EST) is going to set the tone for the remainder of the season . A win could build the confidence level of the players back up to where it was before the back-to-back losses to South Carolina & LSU and give those faithful, diehard Cat fans at Commonwealth Stadium a much needed shot of adrenaline for the upcoming three-game home stand. At the outset of the season most analysts felt this was the one road game the Cats had on the schedule that could be put in the win column . Nothing has changed in that thought process but without Jr. tailback Rafael Little the task will be much tougher but still winnable.

I’m betting Rich Brooks will take a one-point win and exit Starkville as fast as Barbaro come down the stretch at last year’s Derby. But a two to three touchdown win with a strong offensive performance will set a much better tone for the three game homestand.

A Cat loss at Miss. St. and Brooks will be battling odds like he’s never seen before down the stretch in November.

Last Thursday morning Orlando “Tubby” Smith invited the media across the commonwealth to come to Memorial Coliseum for the Wildcats annual Media Day festivities. It all started at 7:30 A.M. for most observers, some of us had to rise at 5:00 a.m. to arrive on time. Those who know me will confirm this is not normal for yours truly.

But as the old saying goes “The early bird gets the worm and this particular morning a tasty donut and cup of juice set up just across the hall from the entrance into the new state of the art basketball facility. A structure that when completed will be the envy of all rival universities and recruiters.

Since “The Tubster” has promised a resurrection of Wildcat hoops this year, I exited the mountains before sunrise via the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway and arrived just in time to see that a 7:30 jump shot is no different than any other.

What I did see was a team that “Tubby” Smith will enjoy coaching and is structured to his talents as a coach. Let’s hope they start out the season well, personally I think the Maui Classic will be a good measuring stick for this teams possible accomplishments in March.

This team will get out in an early offense and run on occasions but for the most part expect a half court patterned and disciplined type offense with an early emphasis on getting the ball inside to Randolph Morris and setting up options for wing players Joe Crawford & Bobby Perry. Ramel Bradley will run the point and be responsible for some perimeter shooting as well . Depth will have to be provided early on by seniors Sheray Thomas and Lukas Obrsut while a talented but inexperienced bunch of freshman and one sophomore Jared Carter get valuable game experience when time permits in November & December.

Congratulations to former Perry Central QB Allan Wayne Holland for leading E.K.U. to a come from behind victory at Southeast Missouri State Saturday . Holland came of the bench and went 16-22 for 206 yards and two TD’S of 28 & 34 yards thru the air . This performance validates all those recent rumors out of Richmond that have Holland close to winning the QB battle that he an incumbent Josh Greco have been battling it out for since early August.

One of the mountains’ two premiere football games last Friday turned out to be not as competitive as thought, when Pikeville drilled Hazard 42-6. Middlesboro outlasted Breathitt 57-42. However, both Hazard & Breathitt should get a shot at redemption in the playoffs but it will have to be on foreign soil because both lost the number 1 seed.

Letcher Co. Central-Belfry-Corbin-Russell all won their respective regional volleyball tournaments last week and will be playing in the KHSAA State Volleyball Tournament this week in the Frankfort Capital Plaza Convention Center in Frankfort, Ky. and all are congratulated for their efforts.

Trevor Hoskins, Middlesboro’s fine senior QB and arguably the most underrated in the state by college recruiters has put up some impressive numbers to date. In 9 games Hoskins is 81/154 in pass completions & attempts for 1480 yards completing 14 passes for TD’s while only throwing 5 interceptions.

Several teams will bring their season to a close this Friday with disappointing records but were very competitive in most games. Perry Central & Letcher Central come to mind first . Both these teams’ rosters were full of freshman and sophomores who weren’t ready to play, but had to due to circumstances of varying nature. Both these programs should prosper next year both from this years experience and the new district realignment.

Tournament officials from the WYMT Mountain Classic announced the pairings for this year’s tournament last week. The tourney will begin on Jan. 9th with June Buchanan vs. Pineville at 6:30, and the nightcap scheduled for tip off at 8:15, pitting Hazard vs. Shelby Valley. Jan. 10th at 6:30 Leslie Co. will play Bell Co., and at 8:15 Perry Central will play Pikeville. The semi-finals & finals will be televised live Fri. & Sat. by WYMT-TV as in the past with a consolation round on Thursday.

Congratulations to Perry Central’s boys and girls soccer programs for advancing to the regional semi-finals before bowing out to tough 1-0 scores at the hands of Corbin & South Laurel respectively. PCC’s boys entered regional tourney play with a perfect 19 - 0 record.

Never have I seen two teams go under the radar by the state’s leading media outlets and especially our two daily newspapers the Lou. Courier Journal & Lex. Herald Leader like Johnson Central and Middlesboro. Also, WLEX - TV has a top 10 each Sunday night for their coverage area and neither is listed but three teams that one or the other has beaten is listed.